GUEST POST #24: “Print Book vs. E-Book by Qin Tang”
February 8, 2011Note from Will: Qin Tang is a librarian and writer. A Chinese Native, Qin studied in Germany and the United States. She received her Master’s degree in LIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. Currently she works at the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation Library. Visit her blog http://onmymind.areavoices.com
Recently I needed to read a book for a work assignment. I checked out an e-reader device - Kindle from my library that has the book downloaded on it.
I would prefer the print book, but it was not available yet. With an e-book, you can purchase it online with a credit card and it is available on your Kindle in a few minutes. But with a print book, it takes a few days to arrive.
Half way through the e-book, I abandoned it and changed to the print book that finally arrived. I had to reread the print book from the beginning.
When I read, I love to flip back and forth between the table of contents and the pages, to go back and review what I read before, to make notes. I am a visual person. I find it very difficult to do that with the e-book. I easily feel lost, not knowing where I am in the book. The e-book tells me the percentage of the contents I have read, but that is not as helpful as flipping through the pages, see the actual page numbers, to see where I am according to the table of contents.
E-books are not for me, but I know there are people who love e-books. Both formats have advantages and disadvantages. And people love each format for different reasons.
Print book advantages:
- People love the feeling of actually holding the book in their hands and turning the pages.
- People love reading at night in bed. It’s more comfortable to cuddle up with a book. It’s just not the same feeling to cuddle up with an e-reader. You can touch and flip between the pages and see more at once. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book.
- Quality hardcover books are still the easiest on the eyes.
- Book cover/book jacket has its appeal that is lost in the e-book.
- It is more reliable. Print book can be used anywhere. E-book is subject to power shortage, hardware malfunctioning and software glitch. If the hard drive is damaged or wiped out, the books are gone. E-reader also needs recharging or boot time.
- Real ownership – Once you purchased the print book, you own it. You can sell it, loan it and give it away. But with e-book, you don’t really own the book. You are granted the right to read an e-book, but no right to resell it or even share it with a friend.
E-book advantages:
- Instant gratification and speedy access - buying an e-book is easy and instant. You don’t have have to wait and don’t have to go somewhere to get it. It’s easier to download a book than to go buy or borrow one.
- Convenience, flexibility and portability – the e-reader is light and easier to carry around and pack for travel. You can read it on your phone, Kindle, desktop and laptop.
- Better price – digital editions are cheaper than their print edition counterparts, though you can buy used print books very cheaply at shrift stores and garage sales, but e-books are not resellable.
- Space saver – the e-reader can hold thousands of books and doesn’t take any shelf space.
- Free books – classics and books that are in the public domain can be downloaded for free.
- More privacy – with e-books, no one can see what you’re reading. Others can’t see your book cover.
- Being green – e-books can save trees.
In the Aug. 9, 2010 issue of Newsweek, an article on print books vs. e-books shared some interesting facts:
- Average production cost is $4.05 for a $26 hardcover vs. $0.50 for a $9.99 download.
- Average author royalty is $3.90 per book vs. $2.12 per download.
- Carbon emissions required to make 40-50 books equals to make one e-reader.
- Walking to the library is still the most ecofriendly way to read.
- 2009 publisher sales totals is $249.2 million for books vs. $29.3 m. for e-books.
While e-books are certainly gaining in overall market share and becoming more mainstream as time passes, the print book industry is still the dominant player. I don’t think print books will ever go away. As long as there are people like me, the print books will never become extinct.
I have no problem with the rise of the E-book and with those who prefer E-books but, for me, I prefer having the print book because I like the feeling of sitting in my chair with a book in my hands. I also think of my eyes (since I already wear glasses). The last thing I want to do is stare at a mini computer screen after spending an enormous amount of time on my computer. I need a break from the screen.
I, too, also like to refer back to what I’ve read & the Table of Contents, especially if I find quotes in the book that I really like (I’ll either place a Post-It note to mark the place or I’ll place a bookmark there). Everyone will have their preference but I still prefer the print book. I also think that, with E-books, what gets lost is the concept of the design of the book cover (I know it said you don’t judge a book by its cover but the design of the book cover also has its place when it comes to readers & how they select books to read).
Love the print for all the reasons mentioned.
Refuse to get sucked into the more/better/newer tech trap just to be able to read.
I will most certainly keep my print collection – one emp event and digital is toast. Creator forbid it – but when the rest are whimpering about how to rebuild civilization I’ll have my print copy of “The way things work”. LOL
This is it in a nutshell! Well said.
Yep. And my print how-to manuals in the basement. (Even aside from the (avert your eyes, Will, hot-button word warning) apocalypse, when I’m sweating and swearing over one of the many, ahem, surprises an old house can spring on you, I want my eyes (along with sweat-drops, bloodstains, and 80-year-old house grime) on a real page, not a little screen.
Now if only I’d kept all those Whole Earth Catalogs …
This is a very concise, down-to-earth comparison that I may print out for patrons when they ask me about e-books vs. print books. No histrionics, no bemoaning the end of the book as we know it, just a very matter-of-fact examination of the two formats. Thank you!
I’ve heard others tell me the advantages of an e-book and my head insists that they can be useful. But my heart tells me that print books (and newspapers & magazines) are my first and only love. Call me old-fashioned but being a more tactile person, I have to feel the book in my hand, fondling the pages, & yes, looking to see how many pages are left (sometimes thankful that the story is about to end, sometimes bereft that the end is coming too soon).
And whatever would I do with all the bookmarks that I have lying around my house if I got an e-reader?
I like the idea of an e-book. I’d kind of like to have one. I think. Maybe. Especially if someone bought one for me.
But I really prefer “real” books with turnable pages, jacket art, and, sometimes, those helpful maps on the end pages. I don’t buy too many books any more because, duh, I do work at a library, at least for awhile longer. My list of ILL holds will last until I’m into retirement.
I do like CarolAnn’s idea about printing the comparison for our patrons who ask. Qin Tang, would this be ok? Could we put it on our reference blog? (We would cite you as author, or not, as you prefer.)
Yes, feel free to share and repost.
Thank you!
I do love – and miss – the printed book; the feel, the smell of the printed word, but I am an e-book convert. I simply can no longer hold a book, even a paperback, open for any length of time – a malady my hand surgeon tells me is quite common amongst longtime librarians. I also find an ebook much more convenient when I travel. I used to carry no less than 12 books when I traveled to somewhere other than the US for more than a week – I did feel good about leaving my books in airports, ships, hotels, restaurants, etc around Europe and Asia – but now, sharing not withstanding, my Kindle is not only easier for my hands to control I always have a book at the ready for my pleasure without out the weight of the extra books. No, I do not think the print will cease during my lifetime but I am so greatful for ebooks. More “mature” readers are big buyers of ebooks. Ny husband has become a more prolific reader because of the ebook reader I bought him after my conversion.
I think Ranganathan’s 2nd law applies here, as well as Gorman’s modern version:
Every reader his or her book.
Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated.
E-books have wonderful potential, and it will be interesting to see how they develop. I scribble in the books I love, so an E-book is not high on my list of things to buy. But I can see where it could be very handy at times. After all, it’s the content that is important, though I prefer the paper container. To each reader, a choice of format!
I often skim or read parts of e-books (and Google Book peeks) on the computers at libraries when reading and researching, but I am not willing to pay for an e-book reader unless they come way down in price. If I were to become EXTREMELY wealthy or travel a lot it would be different. (I know how the different companies do with technology these days — always trying to make the technology you have unavailable or obsolete so you’ll have to buy something new.)
I do prefer hardcover books and hope a lot of people preserve theirs since too many libraries throw too many of their best books away so those who are able to preserve their books may be providing the libraries of the future. (I am NOT at all a happy camper about the throw-away-happy “librarian” cull-ers I have seen and heard of.)
I got an e-reader for Christmas. Yes I love books but they can be heavy when you travel. That is the main reason behind the e-reader. I will admit however that I have used it several times for Book Club selections. I did not have to wait for them to arrive and I only spent money on the one book instead of more so I could get free shipping. No they will never replace print books for me but just at radio and TV each have a place so do print and e- books.
I respect the ebook devotees and it certainly allows us to offer more with less physical space. But…and of course there is a but…
+I work in a library. I don’t want to buy books.
+They might be nice for travel, but then you can’t read during the interminable taxiing for takeoffs and the descent before landing. I would find that really annoying.
+Sometimes the power goes out, as it did for up to 3 days last week in our area. At least with a book I can read during the daytime!
+I stare at a computer screen all day long. When I read, it’s nice to get away from it.
+Not all of my patrons can afford ereaders, and we don’t lend them. Why should I be excited to shut out the most needy of my patrons?
+Not all of my patrons have the mental or physical dexterity to use an ereader. Why should I rob them of reading choices?
+I don’t want my reading choices relegated to whatever Half Price Books happens to have in stock. I’m a picky reader.
It’s clearly the future, and I don’t want to stand in the way of that future. I’m not a technophobe. But I think we have to realize that it is a continuum, and make just a little room for those of us who love print books, or have no option but print books, for just a little longer.
I think print books will be around in some form for quite a while to come. I do think that most of them will be either trade paperbacks or hardcovers. I think we may be seeing the end of the mass market paperback pretty soon. Personally, that won’t be soon enough, I can’t stand reading them, despite the fact that lots of books I love only come out in mm paperback. Thank goodness for ebooks!
No, no, no – please don’t get rid of the mass market paperback. It’s small enough to fit in my purse, doesn’t use electricity, and for the many I keep to reread, it takes up lots less room on the shelf. It also costs a lot less, both when I buy it new and when I pick up secondhand copies at the library or yard sales. And I can carry a bunch of them on vacation, much more easily than hardcovers or trade paperbacks.
I know what you mean Birdy, but for publishers, mass markets are their lowest earners and the sales for them have dropped dramatically in the last few years.
My new Sony reader is smaller than most paperbacks – I was so excited when I realized it fit so neatly into my small purse!
I love my print books and could stock a small public library with what I own. My husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday (I never would have bought it for myself). So far I have only downloaded free or nearly free classics. Here’s one more point in favor of ebooks (at least on the Kindle): you can adjust the type size! Several books in well-established mystery series that I’ve wanted to read are now only available in mass market paperback editions and I just can’t cope with the type size. I don’t travel much, but won’t be spending time before any future trips wondering how many books I can fit in my carry-on.
I find it interesting that no one has so far mentioned two of the bigger drawbacks for me: (1) the very substantial up front cost of an e-reader; and (2) the hassle of having yet another tech environment to get used to, take care of, and avoid damage to. I repeat what I said a few weeks ago: e-reader platforms are still in an early-adopter stage, with a lot of changes yet to come. I will wait.
So true, Wayne, says the woman whose daughter temporarily lost a $20 cell phone yet again yesterday. With the phone, it is just a nuisance, but anything more expensive, and I’d be stressed out. That said, I wouldn’t mind an e-reader if someone gave it to me as a present (just hide it from the kids). I’m not at the point where I am willing to shell out money for it, though.
As I think everyone here knows I’m a big proponent of ebooks.
I like the way I can use an ebook to read and within it to search for information — say a particular phrase, character’s name or just a specific word; and I also like that I can bookmark a selection and easily find it again by accessing my bookmarks (usually at the beginning of the ebook depending upon the software you are using).
And that’s not to mention the fact that I every ebook can be a large print book – I love that! Give me that 16 or 24 font!
And I additionally like the way I can start reading a book, via Amazon’s Kindle app, on my iPod Touch and then go home and pick up my iPad and start reading the same book at the exact same spot I left off at on my iPod. (Though regarding ebook stores, I have to say the iBooks store has the best looking ebooks – as they have e-flipping pages!)
I also like, and this works with video content too if you have player that offers Amazon video – like my Roku player and many new TVs and DVD players, how you can hear about a great new TV program/documentary or book at work and then log into your Amazon account via the web and order the program which will then be available for you to watch via your Roku or other Internet streaming device when you get home or if it is a book be ready on your iPad for you to read when you get home; but of course I’m digressing from the subject at hand…
For me it, meaning reading, has always been more about how the words in the books speak to me in combination with my imagination – and even though the word tends to be looked down upon – I’m going to use it – in connection too with my intellect – and how those words written by authors are enriching, enlightening and sometimes just plain fun. So to me the physical form of the book is much less important than how the author’s words come together in my mind to create meaning.
Granted, I’m a big tech fan so those of you who aren’t – please take my post with a grain of salt and feel free to check out all the physical books in the Unwinder Reading Room! (I think we should add some ebooks to the reading room too…)
And just one last little thought…And that is regarding the idea of physical books being printed in great quantities for years and years to come– I know many people are very devoted to paper books; however, I do think sometime in the next 10-20 years that most new books will be published in e-form and not in paper form – simply because it is a money thing – it is cheaper to produce works in an electronic format than it is in a paper format. And add to that the fact that all the young people who are coming up know, I guess you could call them Millennials and their younger brethren, have or are growing up surrounded by technology and the access to e-content and they expect that and desire it — with all that in mind I have no doubt that the era of physical paper books is in its twilight. I can see the time coming when only super special books, like limited editions or books that commemorate events will be widely published in a paper form. Not of course that there won’t still be book collectors out and about collection paper books…
And bartender, here is another $20 tip for your excellent service!
May I please have a pale ale and some more of those excellent salted cashews…
A few other advantages of ebooks that really matter to me
Legibility – I find the text on my reader to be clearer and easier on my eyes than a lot of paperbacks
Print size – I can make it any size I want, which on a night like this when I have a headache, I can still enjoy the same book by cranking the font up a size.
Privacy – no one has to know what you are reading. So many of the books I love have mildly embarrassing covers. Now no one but me has to know what I am reading which makes me very happy.
And I think already mentioned but high on my list right now – awesomeness for travel. I loaded up some library books, a couple of galleys for review, and a couple of books I wanted to read and they all fit in my purse. I love not having a heavy suitcase. And since I do want to make sure I’m never without (if a battery dies unexpectedly) I have my smartphone loaded up with books too:)
“As long as there are people like me” is the key phrase, I think.
While we have muscle memory and brains trained to be pleased by a specific reading experience (not to mention nostalgia), that won’t be true for… this generation? The next one?
Until then, there’s no reason not to fully enjoy our paper books. Heck, make extra effort to enjoy them. Maybe I’ll be asked to pull slightly less than several hundred for weeding tomorrow (yes, that was part of my day today).
I swore I would never get an e-reader. I love the physical book, the wonderful new book smell. I love seeing the books sit on my shelf. However, last month I caved and bought a Kindle. I LOVE it. I can make annotations and highlights quickly, and access them all in one place later. This was one of the primary reasons I purchased it. I also enjoy the ease with which you can use the built-in dictionary. You can get many books for free, not just the classics, but many during introductory promotions. I dislike how it shows a percent instead of a page number, but that is being addressed in their next update and page numbers have already been implemented in many new e-book purchases.
I think both sides of the fence have valid points. Whether we like it or not, e-readers are here to stay. They were the hottest gift this season, and our libraries have a steady stream of patrons eager to take advantage of free e-book downloads.
I love my Nook, but I also still love the feel of a real book in my hands. The main point is that no matter the format, people are reading.
I have a nook, but I haven’t been using it. I found that a lot of the freebies do not have clear print fonts and I wish I could make the font bigger than I have options for. I just got the Nook upgraded so maybe it would be a more pleasant experience. The comment about not being able to keep a book open is one that I can relate to since my hands have been aching lately from a new hobby. I’ll be interested to see what else is said here!
You can have your Kindles and Nooks, but as for me, give me a print book anyday. I tried to save money by reading a free online copy of one of my library school textbooks during grad school and it was less than helpful (granted, it was on my computer screen and not an ereader, but I just have to have the print book in my hands). I ended up shelling out $40+ for the print copy.
I agree with my colleagues who enjoy the smell and feel of the paper and the ease of switching back and forth between the text and table of contents, etc. While I respect those with ereaders, I don’t want one and don’t think I ever will.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the impact on ebooks vs print on children learning to read. While it is true that kids today seem to be born with technothingies clutched in their little hands, the tactile feelings of books in learning to love to read loses something in etranslation. I know this isn’t a universal feeling–I have a colleague who LOVES using her Nook with her little grandson. But I think of sharing the Very Hungry Caterpillar with my kids when they were small and having them “experience” the book by putting their fingers through the holes. Doing that virtually just ain’t the same thing. Pat the Bunny without a fuzzy tail? Come on…
Selfishly, I like giving picture books as baby gifts, especially the black and white checked cover version of the Real Mother Goose. It was a baby gift to me 32 years ago and we spent many bedtimes with that book. Still have it, raggedy as it is, with the friends name and inscription who gave it to me. I will be sad if I can’t give that–with my name in it as a remembrance–to future family members. Just not the same to send the new parents $12.99 for a picture book download.
I think ereaders will have to become a lot more sturdy before they are the main form of books used by the preschool and under crowd. They have to be able to handle drool, biting, throwing, stomping on, and being nestled next to in a crib or bed. Adult books may soon move mainly to electronic, but I think little kids’ books will be one area where print will still have a presence.
Agreed on the tactile delights of paper books for kids. Rudolf Steiner said nearly a century ago, and research seems to be confirming, that young children learn differently from older children; that play, imagination, and active contact with the physical world are an essential foundation for the more purely intellectual activity of later years. And I remember reading that teachers in ancient Greece used to give their young students honey cakes in the shape of letters of the alphabet, to instill the feeling that learning is sweet.
For what it may be worth, the kids who come to our library love the cardboard books and picture books. I should remind myself, when I’m feeling dyspeptic about the future of books, libraries, or the human race in general, to just get up for a bit and take a walk downstairs.
As I’ve said before, I have a Kindle and my format preference depends on the content. For fiction, most of my reading is done on the Kindle, especially now that I can open the book on my Evo instantly to the place I left off on the Kindle. Very handy when you find yourself unexpectedly killing time – like last night when hubby was supposed to meet me in the bar at 5:30, but got tied up with a long reference question. It’s really the portability and ease of obtaining another book right way that got me to shell out the $$$ in the first place.
It should be noted that you can loan a Kindle book, even to non-Kindle owners, but there are limits on it (I believe you can only lend a title once.) I haven’t tried this feature yet.
Much as I love my Kindle, I will acknowledge some drawbacks. The “locations” thing is awkward. I have more trouble remembering the titles/author of what I’ve read, because I’m not looking at the cover every time I pick up the book to read. These are pretty minor annoyances though. I think tablets may be the final big game changer in the ebook world. If they catch on and the price comes down, that will add a lot of ebook consumers. Once you don’t have to carry around a dedicated device, it becomes a whole lot more attractive.
I like the ebook version of long fiction works (like Les Miserables or the Wheel of Time series). I like ebooks for vacations, though I take a paper book for the plane ride.
I like paper books for everything else.
I have a Sony Reader which is a little cumbersome to load books, but I think it’s worth it to have the ability to borrow ebooks from the library and no way for whatever vendor to take or change my ebooks without my knowledge. I chose the reader that doesn’t have wifi for a reason. Because of this, I almost feel like I own the ebook, on the rare occasion I purchase the ebook.
I see what’s now a standard theme: Those who prefer print books recognize that ebooks have their place–while some (not, I think, most) who prefer ebooks have lots of reasons Print Will Die. I’ve never quite understood the attitude, unless they’re Larry Ellison fans (“For me to win, everyone else must lose.”) As for kids not liking print books…we’re going to get that fallacious argument again, aren’t we? Despite enormous sales of, and renaissance in, kidlit/YA lit. (As always, I believe there will continue to be room for both, for decades if not lifetimes to come.)
I’ll take this in a different direction because I have two concerns: DRM (and you never really own an e-book) and devices.
Remember the flap over 1984 when Amazon pulled back the unauthorized digital version that they had “sold” (i.e. licensed) to users? Until that kind of shenanigans stops, I have concerns. I want to own it, I want to be able to store it wherever I want. Which leads me to the second item…
Device incompatibilities and standards. There are no standards. What will they be? Am I the only one who remembers the VHS/Beta debacle? Until a format is settled, for me they are a luxury item.
I remember VHS/Beta. I’m seeing it again with DVD/BluRay/streaming video. How does one store a virtual copy to carry across constantly changing platforms?
I have a question for the eReader users: How is the speed to refresh the screen? I read fairly quickly, and the sample eReader I tried at my local Borders was painfully slow to change the pages.
It’s a second or two to turn a page on my Sony. Slightly more time than to turn a paper page. My Sony is over a year old so newer models might be faster.
Both my Kindle and Sony are fast enough that I never notice it and I am a very fast reader. It took maybe 15 minutes of reading to get into the right rhythm of knowing when to hit the next button (or swipe the screen), and after that it took me less time than to physically move the page.
I find the Nook to be slower.
I hear you; you voice some valid concerns and I agree with everything you say!
I think we are right now in the spot with ebooks where we were with digital (mp3) music several years ago – the publishing industry is so concerned their copyrights and their profits that they are missing the point that just like with digital music most people would prefer to buy the ebooks if they are reasonable priced, or check them out via a public library, than to steal them; and thus we’re stuck with the DRM restrictions. (You’ll note most digital music sold today doesn’t have those restrictions anymore.)
I think in the next five years we’ll probably see an industry standard set, I would guess the open epub format, and a consumer friendly definition of books being purchased as compared to licensed (I really think the publishing industry is going to have to change that little hidden fact as all the ebooks I see on Amazon, B&N, the iBook store etc feature a button that says you are buying the ebook – not that you are licensing it.)
And another factor that I think will make licensing versus customers actually purchasing digital editions of books a hot topic of conversation – hopefully as a precursor to changing the way that ebooks are sold – so that they actually really are sold to customers; is the rising popularity of streaming television shows and movies to one’s TV and portable devices. That is to say the movies and TV shows that people are now able to purchase and access via internet streaming devices like new TVs, Apple TV players and Roku players – because there too – I may actual click a button to purchase the entire first season of Dontown Abbey but in fact I am purchasing a license to it…
And that bit about actually buying a license to an ebook or streamed video (TV show or movie) as compared to really buying it, which I’m sure is what most people think when they “buy” an ebook or internet streamed video – that they are buying it; I think that will eventually change so people can really buy those items. I’m sure – we just need a few more instances of massive consumer complaints like the previously mentioned uproar over Amazon deleting licensed lapsed e-copies of 1984 from customer Kindles or some angry customer to sue a ebook or internet streaming video vendor for deleting a licensed item that he or she thought he/she had purchased.
And as a last thought I hear you about formats too. I’ve purchased 8-track tapes, regular cassettes for my Walkman, CDs, gold CDS and digital MP3s for music as well as purchased VHS tapes, laser discs (I once had all the original Star Trek series on laser disc), DVDs and now digital internet streamed video content — and boy are you right — that equals a whole lot of formats!
Both the problems you’ve raised are big concerns for me too–especially DRM and the whole issue of ownership.
I suppose it’s possible that pressure from customers will push the industry toward a more consumer-friendly model. It won’t happen in the courts. Republican administrations have been packing the Federal bench and the Supreme Court for a generation now, for purposes that go considerably beyond just keeping marijuana illegal and abortions a privilege for wealthy women; we’ve already begun to see the fruits of that careful labor.
DRM is huge – I’m glad you brought it up. I buy as many books as I can direct from publishers like Baen which do not use DRM. Once I buy a Baen book I can download it any format I desire, as many times as I desire. So I feel like I really own the book.
With my Kindle books I do regularly back them up to my computer, so I can re-load them quickly if anything ever happens to my reader.
I enjoyed Qin Tang’s post, and all the discussion…I’m a print enthusiast, although I have used e-books and can see the appeal. My biggest concern about e-books: are there any plans for recycling all those eReaders that will be “obsolete” and replaced by users after a couple of years? Sure hope so…plenty of computers and related items are just piling up around the world.
Also — yes, it’s nice to be able to hide what you’re reading from others, but I miss being able to strike up a conversation with fellow travelers about what we’re reading!
I bought kindles as Christmas gifts for my wife and my Assistant Librarian. Both love them so I broke down and ordered one for myself — I’ll let you know what I think of mine when it’s delivered…
For some purposes, e-books are superior. Travel–definitely a plus–as long as you are traveling in places where you’ll have reliable electricity. I’ve mentioned elsewhere the time I was discussing a family member’s prescriptions with a young doctor and she pulled out her i-thingy, which turned out to contain the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) and several other medical reference books. Brilliant application of the e-book concept. And having worked for many years in downtown Chicago, where there are several law schools, I know how grateful all those students will be when all those big backpack- and muscle-straining textbooks are loaded onto a device that can be carried in one hand or slipped into a pocket. Encyclopedias and other reference books: much as I love the ancient grandeur of Britannica 11 and the Oxford English Dictionary, much as I’d like to have them occupying yards of shelf space in an old oak bookcase near the fireplace in my study (Editor’s note: This man is delusional; his “study” is a basement corner, though it does indeed contain an old bookcase), the fact is when you have a huge amount of information, especially when that information calls for frequent updating, electronic is the way to go.
Another big plus: convenience. Our e-ready patrons can find in our catalog, and download from the OverDrive site, any available e-title, right where they are, be they snowbound, bedridden, prowling our virtual collection in the middle of the night … and we can offer them e-titles that we just wouldn’t have room for on our physical shelves. And they don’t have to worry about getting the books back to us or racking up fines if they forget–when the three weeks are up, poof, the title is off their account, no muss, no fuss.
But. I loves me my paper books, for all the reasons so eloquently set forth by my fellow Unwinders. As it happens, I just checked out a copy of Jan Struthers’ Mrs. Miniver. It must be one of the oldest books on our shelves: First American edition, 1942. This book–this actual physical volume–was bought, presumably at a bookstore, and first read during the dark early years of World War II. It was held in the hands of a reader who, quite possibly, no longer lives in our world; to that first reader it may have brought a measure of comfort and hope. It may well have been, this book, part of the first donations with which our library was opened in 1958 (there is a “Wheeling Public Library” property stamp on unnumbered p. 25, with the number 213 in blue ink; the library’s 213th book?). The type is clear and readable, the paper of a better quality than the later “wartime books” and not brittle, but yellowing some. It was bound at some point, of course, in buckram. It smells like an old book. I can bring it close to my face, close my eyes, draw a deep breath, and I am in all the libraries I have loved since I was a little boy.
They can pry my print books out of my cold dead hands.
Just watched the movie last night on TCM & your description of the book makes me yearn for more old books on our shelves (weeding has eliminated most of the original books in our collection–which makes me quite heartsick).
Your ode is very touching. Thank you.
Qin, thanks for the excellent list of pros and cons. I’m still in the thinking stage on this one. I appreciate the information from you and from everyone who posted.
Serendipity strikes. Take a look at this week’s Newsweek (FEB 14,2011 ed), page 6: The Future of the Book. It is a survey of people in the book industry on the subject. Among others, it includes the Librarian of Congress, Dave Eggers, Joyce Carol Oates, and more.
[...] post on print book vs. e-book is the guest post #24 on Will Manley’s popular blog Will Unwound for librarians. Librarians are very engaging [...]